


Nights From Neverland

by bxileyclxne



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bxileyclxne/pseuds/bxileyclxne
Summary: Emma wasn't the only Charming born with magic. Before the curse, Snow and Charming had another daughter, this is her story.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones & Emma Swan, Prince Charming | David Nolan & Emma Swan
Kudos: 2





	1. o. the dark curse

A CASTLE OFF IN THE DISTANCE was framed by colorful greenery. Flowers clung to the branches of tall trees, perfect for climbing, and just above their tops was a sky colored lilac. Clouds of white were sown into the picture, making the perfect ending to the perfect day. 

Snow White smiled softly, the sweet breeze a familiar friend as it danced across the treetops and brought pink petals along with it. The day had been sweet from the moment the birds called for her, their sweet song waking not only her but the small body between her and David. They'd went for a walk together, picking fresh berries that would be just right for breakfast, and squeezing oranges into a juice so sour it made their eyes water. 

Snow had been so caught up in her day dream, she hadn't noticed David come up behind her, wrapping his arms tightly around her ever growing bump. The upcoming days were to be anything but sweet, already leaving a bitter taste in Snow's mouth as she turned in David's arms. 

"She won't win, my love." Charming breathed, his eyes trailed on their beautiful garden. Flowers that had grown in love and were cared for tenderly by his daughter. It was all a gift he never though he would receive as a shepherds son. 

"The wardrobe is only big enough for one." Snow breathed, her guilt beginning to pile higher in her stomach. "David it's only big enough for one!" 

"Blue is working on a solution, they're going to escape this. Olive and Emma will be safe." Charming promised, his own worry beginning to compromise his confidence.

"And what if she doesn't find one in time?" Snow fret, tears falling down her face once again at the hand of her vile step-mother who was devoted to ruining her happiness at the extent of two innocent children.  
"We have to believe that she will." 

———

Snow sniffled as she held Emma to her chest for the first, and the last time. The sky had turned a sickly shade of purple, the violent winds stripping the castle of it's flags. David stood off to the side, his own eyes growing moist at the inevitable goodbyes he would be forced to partake in. His arms were full of love as she held his older daughter to his chest, the small child already asleep for the night with no worry about tomorrow. 

"David." Snow chocked, watching as the baby's small face began to crumble and a fresh set of tears rolled down her perfectly new cheeks. "You have to take her. Take the baby to the wardrobe."  
"Are you out of your mind?" David questioned, his fingers twisted through strands of silky blonde hair. Olive was still sound asleep on his chest, and yet his wife was confronting his with the idea of abandoning her before Blue had arrived with a solution. 

"It's the only way. You have to send her." Snow was beginning to grow frantic, her eyes bounding between Olive and Emma with a desperation she had never known. She was now a mother of two precious girls and yet in a matter of hours both may be dead at the hands of her step-mother. 

"No. No, Snow you don't know what you're saying." David protested, laying Olive beside his wife in exchange for their newborn. The perfect picture of lilac skies and dancing petals in the breeze seemed like a life lived long ago as David watched Snow kiss their perfect baby goodbye.

"I do." Snow sniffled, "We have to believe that she'll come back for us, and that Blue found a way. We have to give them their best chance." 

Soft lips brushed against soft skin, tears falling from Snow White's eyes as she watched her husband flee with their newborn; their prophesized savior. "Goodbye, Emma." She whispered into the distance, David already departing on a journey to the nursery where the wardrobe awaited the little hero. 

For the next twenty-eight years Snow and David would mourn for their little Emma, and yet they would have no idea her bright green eyes were missing from their lives. 

———

Snow White had barely managed to climb out of bed, let alone wake her daughter. In fear that they would soon be spending their last moments together in the face of brewing darkness and evil queens, the women wanted nothing more then for the remaining members of her family to be together. 

Terrified as they scrambled down the hallway, the youthful princess clung to the thin fabric of her mothers gown. Her eyes were pinched tightly, blocking out the sight of dead bodies littering the halls of her castle.  
Snow abruptly stopped running when she reached what had once been Emma's nursery, her eyes welling with tears as she glanced at David's bleeding body. The wardrobe's doors had been cracked open, and yet no trace of Emma remained. The baby had escaped the curse, and yet Olive was left a victim. Time had officially run out and Blue hadn't arrived. 

Ignoring the burning pain, Snow White dropped to her knees, reaching out to hold her baby in her lap for what just might be the last time. The sky was growing darker and darker just outside the window, the wind whipping and whirling around and collecting the remnants of what once was vibrant pink petals. 

"Oh, don't worry dear, in a few moments you won't remember you knew him, let alone love him." The voice traveled through the nursery, silencing the wind. Olive whimpered in her mothers arms, her eyes still trained on her fathers stone still figure. "Oh, hello." Regina's attention snapped to the young princess, a sinister smile twisting onto her features.

"Don't touch her." Snow White protested, holding her daughter closer to her chest, staring angrily at the selfish women who had ripped apart the entire kingdoms happiness. 

Purple strands of magic wrapped around the girl, her body suspended in the air. Frightened cries left her lips, though Snow was growing to weak to stand and yank her back towards her chest.  
Watching helplessly as Olive chocked on sobs, she had barely noticed the portal brewing beneath her dangling body until it was too late and her screams were silenced by the distance of an unknown world. 

In a matter of minutes Snow White had lost both of her princesses and her husband, and yet for twenty-eight years she didn't know why she always felt so unbearable alone.


	2. i. neverland bound

THE SUN WAS A MYTH ON THE ISLAND of Neverland, much like family was a joke amongst lost boys. They bonded over their lonesome, and yet never even considered the idea of returning home where their families continued to live without them. Life had been painted with sorrow and darkness for as long as Neverland had lived, though that seemed to be exactly what the lost boys thrived beneath. For as long as Peter Pan had run the island, deadly games and tricks were played to pass the time, yet now the games were more dangerous then ever.

Pan had simply stopped caring about the fate of expendable lost boys. He let the killing spiral until late in the evening when even the owls were asleep beneath the constant moonlight. Blood was splattered amongst tree trunks deep in the forest, just far enough away from camp to coax new lost boys to stay awhile. 

Though not all of the island was kissed by darkness, up high in a treetop, there was a girl unknown to most. To Pan she was his savior, instilling his youth when the island failed. Her small hands would wrap around his, a vibrant yellow glow turning back the clock to restore wisdom and youth. 

Peter had come to her for the second time that night, his eyes twinkling with mischief beneath the stars as he led her through the forest with secrecy. The girl was never allowed to stray far from her tree, and yet now Peter was introducing an entirely new side of the island to her. Her eyes were wide with amazement, yet fear still coursed through her brain as he demanded her silent. 

Abruptly Pan stopped, forcing the young girl still as her eyes analyzed the stars from beneath the treetops. They were crystal clear, the morning star the brightest in the sky unlike usual. Pan warned the young girl to stay put, his grip on her forearm bruising. She winced, tearfully nodding up at him as he wandered farther into the forest towards the sound of struggling victims. 

"Are you still at it? Don't you know, Peter Pan never fails. I didn't expect you to find me. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. You're mothers. Quite tenacious about your offspring's. Believe it or not, I understand that, which is why I have a gift for you." His voice echoed, sending a chill down her spine as she tenderly caressed one of the many bruises on her arms. 

"We don't want your gifts." A female voice snapped, shocking the horrified girl as she curiously peeked closer. Hope began to rise in her stomach that just maybe she would find her way off of the island after all. 

"Oh but I think your mother will." Pan teased. "Olive! Come here." He demanded, and not wanting to anger the man, the small girl obediently followed his instructions. 

The first women Olive saw was a struggling brunette, her green eyes burning beneath the starlight. They were an all to familiar shade of hunter, and it didn't take Olive all that long to realize that her mother was on Neverland. 

Her mother had finally found her. 

Attempting to run to her mother, Peter was quick to grab her arm, leaving yet another bruise on her skin without care. His eyes were cold, sending a shiver down Mary Margert's back as she feared what he would do to her daughter. The daughter she had finally come face to face with after twenty-nine years of agonizing loss. 

"If you're looking to see Henry again, i have to warn you. There is only one place you'll be reunited--in death." Pan shoved Olive aside, hardly caring for the fact that the girl lost her footing and toppled over, her torn and dirty dress ripping even more as it got caught on a gagged rock. 

The three women tied to the tree struggled, though each for different reasons. Henry was placed in all of their hearts, yet the mother of two was faced with a situation she could have never expected and seeing her baby so close only made her heart ache stronger. 

"Having trouble moving? Not surprised, given where you are. You see, what's hastening your demise is your regret." Pan smirked, his game unfolding perfectly beneath his fingertips despite the small set back mere minutes ago. 

"What are you talking about?" The blonde beside Pan growled, her eyes such a similar shade of green that Olive was confused for a moment. The girl had the same honey hair as hers, and her eyes matched the shade of lovely green her mothers bore. 

"This tree is the sight of a very important event for me." The smirk fell from Peter's face for the first time, his eyes glancing up at the stars for a brief moment. "I abandoned my boy here." 

"You have a son?" The brunette asked, her familiar voice sending a chill down Olive's spine. The young princess whimpered, backing away from the tree as if getting any closer would burn her. Her eyes racked over Regina, recalling why she looked so familiar. She was the vile queen that killed her father and sent her to this horrible island. 

"I'm older then I look." Pan teased, hardly paying Olive any mind as she found her way to his side again. It had become a toxic routine. The man that used her for her gift was also the man she hid behind in the face of fear. 

"If you have a child then you must regret losing him, too." The blonde spoke again, her eyes full of sorrow and pain, yet their was a strength brewing that was inspiring to Olive. 

"Quite the opposite, actually. See, I have him all boxed up so I don't lose him again." Pan reached for the box sitting on the rock beside him, smirking as he let his fingertips caress the red jewel on top.

"Rumpelstiltskin's your son?" Regina asked, her brown eyes not nearly as hard as Olive remembered. 

"That he is." Pan replied all to carelessly, startling Olive as she had never heard somebody speak about their child with such disconnect. 

"How is that possible?" Her own mother spoke up, still bound to the tree with the very women who had ripped both of their worlds apart. "You're--"

"Younger then him?" He questioned, stepping closer to the women with mischief in his eyes. "Not really. Just like you and your daughter." Pan came face to face with the blonde, Regina growing annoyed beside her. Olive gasped, realizing that somehow the blonde beside her mother was little baby Emma. 

She noticed then that her mother didn't bear the same bump anymore, and her hair had been cut though she had once promised to never do such a thing. Everything had changed since Olive had been away, and yet she couldn't make sense of the fact that her mother looked exactly the same.

"You're a fraud." Regina accused, "Your magic has weakened. You can't even hurt us, let alone Rumpelstiltskin."

"You're right, but that's why I'm here. This tree will protect me until my powers restored. And then...Well, then I get to have some real fun. And I won't have to worry about my child ever again. Something else we will all soon have in common." His words were harsh, and Emma struggled against the tree as he spit them towards her. 

"There has to be another way." She announced, her eyes pinched with a growing urge of defeat that she wouldn't give into just yet. 

"No, you're not going to get to me. See, this tree attacks the regret of anyone who comes here. And you? You've got plenty." Pan pointed his sword towards Emma, his words laced with poison like they usually were. 

"I regret not taking a better shot at you when I had the chance." Emma growled back, not ready to show her defeat. She was strong, and she was beautiful. Olive couldn't believe her little sister had gotten so big and strong whilst she stayed so little and useless. She had missed so much of her families lives. 

"Well, that's not all, is it, savior? No." Pan whispered, his face getting impossibly closer to Emma's whilst the women stayed stiff. "I have your sons heart inside of me. I can feel just how much you let him down, time and time again."

Pan's harsh words cutting against Emma's skin angered Snow, her eyes darting between both of her girls with a protective rage that was uncalming as she remained tied up. "Leave her alone." 

"Perhaps I should. After all what chance did she have of being a good mother? Look at the example you've set -- abandoning her and Olive for twenty-eight years." The blonde child perked up at the mention of her name, though she could just barely follow what was going on in their conversation. 

"Are you finished?" Regina interjected, her words holding more then just the bored tone she forced them out with. Olive should see that she was beating herself up over past endeavors, yet she wasn't so sure she could trust the women that sent her here. 

"Last words from the Queen. Perhaps a death bed confession from the one who has the most regret of all." Pan enquired. 

"Yeah, there's one problem with that. I did cast a curse that devastated an entire population. I have tortured and murdered. I have done some terrible things. I should be overflowing with regret but...I'm not." Regina's jaw clenched as she snapped the vines from around her torso, a smirk settled onto her face as she stalked towards a shocked Pan. "Because it got me my son." 

Snow rushed towards Olive, picking her up just in time for Regina to plung her hand into Peter's chest, ripping Henry's heart from the cavity. The red organ was glowing with the same color yellow as Olive's magic, the organ infused with the magic of the truest believer. 

"Mommy." Olive muttered, wrapping her arms and legs around Snow White as tightly as she could, tears dampening the maroon fabric of Snow's jacket. 

Snow White shushed the small girl, her small girl, completely overwhelmed with victory as she watched Regina pick up Pandora's box. Everything was falling perfectly into place, and yet she never could have expected a trip to Neverland could leave her feeling so fulfilled. 

\-------

Olive continued to cling to Snow White as they trudged through the jungle, climbed into a small lifeboat, and paddled towards an even larger ship. All the pain and distress that she had faced throughout an apparent twenty-eight years was catching up to her so quickly she couldn't vocalize her thoughts or her reliefs. All she could manage was to cling to her mother, and Mary Margaret Blanchard was not going to complain.   
Since regaining her memory after Emma broke the curse it was a travesty, living through life with one grown daughter not knowing what had happened to the other. Waking up in Storybrooke everyday with Henry, Emma, and David, Snow felt guilty. And now, learning that though she had been absent for twenty-eight years, she developmentally hadn't missed anything; unlike with Emma. Olive was still her magic wielding little princess.

"Where's Henry?" Emma shouted when they all finally clambered onto the ship, all eyes turning to them. 

"He's here!" A voice called out, and immediately they all ran towards it, Snow holding Olive so tightly the little girl was sure she'd have even more bruises, but she didn't care. This was a hold full of love and admiration, rather then hatred. For the first time in too many years somebody loved her again. 

"Henry?" Emma questioned when the boy gasped, his eyes remained shut however. "Are we too late?" 

"Henry!" Regina tried, horror seeping into her tone as she tenderly laid a hand on the young boys arm. "Honey."

The boy gasped once more, his eyes fluttering open in shock. He looked around frantically for a few moments before throwing himself towards Emma and Regina with relief.   
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy, buddy." The same voice from earlier replied, a gleeful smile adorning his features. 

"I'm sorry." Henry stuttered, his eyes wide with guilt as he still clung to his mothers. "I wanted to save magic. I wanted to be a hero." He battled with himself, clearly overwhelmed by what had just happened to him.

"There's plenty of time for that." A familiar voice called, but Olive was far to tired and far to comfortable to look up from her mothers shoulder. The world had tired her out today, though she was scared to close her eyes in fear of losing her mother yet again. 

"And now it's time for rest." Snow chimed, her hand tracing circled on Olive's back as she noted her little girl's heavy breathing. 

"Welcome back, young sir. Only the best for our guest of honor. What do you think? Captains quarters?" Another person gleefully greeted Henry, the few people on the boat clearly overjoyed to see the boy lively again.

"Come on, I'll tuck you in." Regina smile. 

Olive grasped the color of Snow's jacket tightly, fear creeping up her shoulders that this dream would end soon and she'd be confronted with the memory that her mother and father had been by her side in ages, and it would likely remain that way. 

"Snow? Is that--" The familiar voice was full of pent of tears and shoved aside emotions. Olive looked up, her curiosity finally getting the best of her despite the exhaustion she suffered under. Blue eyes shone beneath the stars of Neverland, a familiar sweep of honey hair and a delicate smile stealing her memory once more. Overwhelmed with fear and happiness, Olive lunged herself at David, truly feeling like she never wanted to leave this moment. 

"Daddy!" She gasped in delight, tears streaming down her face as she attempted to hold him tighter. 

David's hand came up and caressed the back of her head, her silky hair the same beneath his calloused fingertips. His own tears overwhelmed him, chocking back a sob as he cuddled her close. 

"Hey, look." Snow gently prodded, pointing up towards the sky just in time for Olive to see a sparkly red glitter to fill the air above them. 

A person appeared from the dust, looking disoriented for a moment before he turned and faced the man that Olive couldn't quite place. "Bae." He breathed, lunging towards the man for a hug that they both looked like they needed. 

"Papa." The man replied, happily hugging him back. 

David continued to rub Olive's back, much like Snow had been doing. He took notice of the way she fought of yawns, her small hands curling into the fabric of his jacket with a strength he had never experienced before. Guilt coiled in David's stomach as he could only imagine the torment she had suffered for twenty-eight years. 

"Where's Henry?" The older man questioned, his accent thick against the others. Olive found it mesmerizing, much like she had Pan's before she learned to fear the man with the cool way of speaking. 

"He's safe, he's safe." Bae promised, relishing in the comfort of his fathers hands. Olive understood that comfort, laying her head against her fathers chest as it was getting to heavy to support. 

"I told you I wasn't going to hurt the boy." The father explained, hurt crossing his features as he analyzed his sons face as if it was the last time he was ever going to see him. 

"I know, I'm sorry. I--" Bae paused, looking conflicted for a minute before he continued on. "Why didn't you tell me Pan was your father?" 

Olive froze at the mention of Pan, her hands tightening around the collar of David's jacket and her legs locking around his waist. She whimpered, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment before she forced them open in fear of sleep taking over. 

"Because I didn't want you to know I was as bad a father as he was." Rumpelstiltskin replied, shame lacing his tone as he confronted the past he had tried so hard to run from. "Because we're both the same, me and him, because we both abandoned our sons." 

"No," Bae shook his head, a small smirk of pride filling his features, "you're not the same, because you came back for me, Papa."

Emma turned around after watching the two men hug again, her eyes trained on Olive for a moment before she looked between David and Snow. "He's back." She breathed, "That means--"

"He can cure me." David smiled at his younger, yet older daughter. 

"We can go home." Snow smiled happily, her eyes watering as she pulled Emma into a hug, which David soon joined still holding Olive close to his chest. "A family." 

\-------

Olive was half asleep by the time lost boys began bombarding the ship, David holding her closely as he watched the children crowd closely together on the deck of the Jolly Roger. In the hour since Rumpelstiltskin and Bae had been reunited, she had learned that the one handed pirate was named Hook, and Bae was partial to the name Neal. 

Olive watched as Emma lit a cannon, and Neal opened up a coconut, hardly understanding what they were trying to accomplish. David was rocking, unsuccessfully trying to lull Olive to sleep as she drearily watched what was happening around her. Her eyelids were struggling to remain open for longer then a few seconds but she was remaining successful as she watched. 

A shadow escaped the coconut, and Regina was quick to send it flying towards the sail with a trail of green magic. The sail turned black when the shadow made contact, the green wisps disappearing.

"You think it'll fly?" Emma questioned, her eyes trained towards the blackening sail. 

"It has no choice." Regina replied.

"Then lets get the hell out of Neverland." Emma groaned, her eyes finally leaving the sail. 

"As you wish, m'lady." Hook exclaimed, his accent eliciting giggles from Olive as she rubbed at her eyes. The pirate smirked, looking down at David and the young princess before he called out to his makeshift crew "Bosun, weigh anchor!" 

The boat lifted from the water, breaking through the clouds as it left Neverland behind. Olive released a sigh of content, feeling as though some of the chains weighing her down had been removed. 

"You know, when we first landed on this island, you said we'd all need to work together. " David reminisced, caressing Olive's hair as she fidgeted against him before settling again, this time her thumb tucked between her lips. 

"I was just trying anything." Emma shrugged, hardly wanting any praise as she left an island any child dreamed of visiting, especially an orphan thrust into the wrong end of the system. 

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think it was possible. That a hero, a villain, a pirate...That we could all be united, but we were because of the most important piece of the puzzle -- a leader." 

"I'm just glad that we were all able to work together and get Henry home." Emma deflected the praise, a blush raising on her cheeks though in the darkness of the Neverland night she was able to hide it. Looking down at the little girl cuddled into her fathers chest, a thankfulness spread throughout her, "Get all of us home." 

Finally giving into sleep, the last thing Olive saw was the treetops of Neverland kissing the clouds until all that could be seen was an abyss of grey.


End file.
